


The First Puppet Show

by VampirePaladin



Category: Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland
Genre: Gen, Puppets, violence toward a child, witchhunt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-16
Updated: 2012-04-16
Packaged: 2017-11-03 18:19:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/384418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VampirePaladin/pseuds/VampirePaladin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lionela first gets her cat dolls and performs her first puppet show in front of her entire village.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The First Puppet Show

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for Dark Fest.  
> Any fandom, any characters or pairing, isolation (physical and/or situational).

The man and women walked down the street. In between them was a fair haired little girl. Every time a strange adult came close she would shy closer to whichever parent was further from the terrifying giant. Her little hands would clutch her mother’s skirt or her father’s tunic. She would put them in the line of fire. It was okay though. That was the job of parents, to protect the little girl from the strangers that terrified her so much.

The family trio entered a local store. It was a general store. There was the usual assortment of cloth, foodstuff and other useful sundries that any family would need. The little girl peeked out from behind her mother. Her wide eyes surveyed the store. There was no one there other than her family and the owner. The coast was clear, so she stepped forward, shyly waving at the owner.

Now, she happily began to explore the contents of the store. Every time she came here it was like a different world. There would always be different little odds and ends that would be for sale. Once those things were sold they would be gone forever. Even things that were always for sale like flour and barrels were never exactly the same as the previous ones for sale. Maybe this bag would have a little rip or that barrel would be a smooth pale color.

Sitting on a shelf was a pair of cat dolls. There was an orange one wearing a red coat with a darling kerchief tied around her neck. The black one wore a blue coat and a little red cape. She stood there with her eyes locked on the toys. It was rare for this store to have toys of any kind, especially not ones that looked so huggably full of stuffing.

“Lionela, dear, what are you looking at?” her mother asked with a smile.

“The kitties.”

Her father laughed. “You like those, don’t you?”

Lionela nodded.

“We’ll be buying the cats too.”

“You are going to have to take good care of then,” her mother said.

“’Kay,” she said to her mother. Lionela turned to the two cats and took one paw in each hand. “It is time to go home Aranya and Horoholo.”

Lionela was not a very outgoing child, but through playing with her toy cats she slowly began to interact with other children a bit more and more. Her father considered it some of the best money he ever spent. Her parents encouraged her to become more and more outgoing. Slowly but surely, she began to make friends.

“Mother, Father, I want to perform at the feast.”

“You do?” her mother asked, not hiding the surprise in her face.

“I’m so proud of you.” Her father swept her into a big bear hug.

The little Lionela had a happy smile on her face. Every year the village had a feast to celebrate the death of the Witch Sisters. There would be performers and dancing. Seeing how happy her parents were that she was going to be doing something so visible in front of people helped to quell the nervousness that tied her stomach into knots. She was going to do this because she knew it would make them proud of her.

She practiced her performance in secret. Lionela wanted it to be a surprise for everyone. The only ones who were privy to her plan were her precious toy cats. They were actually going to be the stars of the performance.

The day of the feast came. Lionela wore a pretty new dress that her mother wore. Aranya’s kerchief had been replaced with a new one and Horoholo had a special cape to wear. She was nervous, but she wanted to share her special skill with everyone. The little girl waited off to the side of the stage as the jugglers performed. Soon enough it was her turn.

She cautiously stepped onto the stage. Her parents had been talking nonstop about how shy little Lionela was going to perform. There were hushed comments from the crowd about how cute she was. She set her two dolls down on the ground in front of her and stepped away.

Slowly, the two toys pushed themselves onto their feet. Horoholo took Aranya’s front paw and began to dance with her. The audience was silent as they watched the stuffed animals dance all around the stage. Lionela remained rooted in one spot, using all of her concentration to control the two animals. Sweat began to gather on her skin as she struggled to keep the performance going. She had never moved objects with her mind for this long without a break. Finally, the toys curtsied and bowed to each other and then the audience before they dropped down to the ground. 

Lionela rushed to the two of the, taking them up in her arms. She looked out at the audience with a huge smile on her face. That smile faded away as she was met with the cold stares of the villagers. The little girl backed up a step or two.

It started as one murmur. Then another repeated the word. It spread throughout the audience like a tsunami. Soon there were cries of “witch” coming from all around her. Lionela looked around fearfully. As people began to climb on the stage, she dashed off. She ran to her parents, clinging to their clothing and hiding behind them. Her father placed his big, strong hands on her shoulders.

“I have the witch,” her father yelled.

The girl looked up at her parents. Large tears were forming in her eyes. Soon there were other people grabbing onto her as well. She was pulled off of her mother’s skirt. Somehow, she managed to keep hold of her two cats. Lionela screamed and cried, too terrified to even beg. She was lifted up into the air and carried off. Rough hands forced her into an equally rough sack. She lost her grip and Horoholo hit the ground.

“Take your damned magic cat with you too, bitch,” a voice said as the black cat toy was pushed in with her.

The bag was tied shut, girl and dolls inside. Once again, she was lifted up into the air. She had no idea where she was going as the bag was jerkily carried. Then she felt herself fall. Water hit her. She struggled, but there was no way to swim in the bag. Her mouth filled with cold river water. At least the water muffled the cries of blood from her family and friends.

Lionela closed her eyes. There was nothing she could do.

Don’t tell me you want to die like this?

Lionela, we can get out of this. You just need to concentrate.

She did not know who was speaking to her. At the moment she was incapable of wondering. Lionela just did what she was told. She concentrated. It was so hard to do as the water was killing her. She did not think she would last any longer when suddenly she was breathing air again.

Lionela started to cough. Her body was simultaneously trying to get rid of the water in her lungs and get her air. She threw up. It was never exactly clear to her how she got out of the bag, but somehow she must have used her powers to do so.

She lay curled up, by the side of a foreign dirt road. Lionela cried and she cried as she hugged the cats close to her.

“Lionela, you are getting tears all over me,” a voice said.

“You are already all wet. A few tears won’t hurt at all,” said another voice.

“W-Who is there?”

“Lionela, don’t you recognize us? It is Aranya and Horoholo.”

She looked down at the toys and spoke, “But you are just toys.”

“I am much too handsome to be just some little girl’s toy,” Horoholo said.

“Horoholo, don’t be so mean. Lionela just had a very scary experience.”

“I-It really is the two of you.”

“Now, Lionela, you have to get up and start moving. They might come looking for us and we are still close to the village.”

Lionela silently nodded. She stood up, one paw in each hand. The two toys kept up a conversation with her. It was all they could do to distract her from the trauma of the situation and from the fact that the voices from all three sides of the conversation came from one pair of lips.


End file.
